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✦ top storylines: notre dame vs. byu By Lou Somogyi fourth quarter before losing 17-14. With Hill, they could be even more dangerous. "It starts with Hill, and the new offensive system that they have in place is really different from what we saw last year," Irish head coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday afternoon. "… It really just centers around him. He's much more comfortable in this offense." Notre Dame has held its own with quarterbacks that are mainly passers such as USC's Cody Kessler and Michigan State's Connor Cook. USC scored only 10 points and Michigan State finished with 13. The Irish also survived Navy's Keenan Reynolds, who generally passes less than 10 times a game. The primary challenge has been the dual-threat figures. It will have to climb that Hill again versus BYU. Double Trouble In Notre Dame's first two losses this season, it's probably not a coincidence they came against the two teams with the best dual-threat quarterbacks on the schedule, or "double trouble." In the 41-30 Irish loss at Michigan Sept. 7, Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner completed 21 of 33 passes for 294 yards with four touchdowns, but even more maddening was his maneuverability and escape skills. Notre Dame appeared to have him in its sights numerous times on his pass attempts, but he would consistently evade the rush while also rushing for a game-high 82 yards and a score on 13 attempts. Three weeks later in Notre Dame's 35-21 loss to Oklahoma, Sooners' quarterbacks Blake Bell and Trevor Knight combined to complete 23 passes in 31 attempts with two scores, while also totaling 83 yards rushing on 14 carries. The ability of a dual-threat quarterback to keep a defense on its heels with an arm that passes about 30 to 35 times per game and legs that average approximately 12 to 15 runs per contest can be an enormous asset. Since late September, no one in the country has been more proficient as that type of dual threat than 6-2, 221-pound Brigham Young sophomore signal-caller Taysom Hill. During Brigham Young's 1-2 start, Hill was deemed to be one-dimensional. It was manifested during the 40-21 romp versus Texas Sept. 7, when Hill completed only 9 of 26 pass attempts for 126 yards with an interception — but rushed 17 times for 259 yards, highlighted by 68-, 26- and 20yard touchdown runs. Much has changed since the 1-2 start: • In the first three games, Hill completed an alarmingly low 35.1 percent of BYU sophomore Taysom Hill is one of only two quarterbacks in the country that is currently averaging at least 200 passing yards per game (237.9) and 90 rushing yards per contest (95.6). photo courtesy BYU his passes (40 of 114). During a 5-0 run entering the Nov. 9 game at Wisconsin, he completed 65.4 percent (106 of 162). • During Brigham Young's 7-3 start, Hill and Northern Illinois' Jordan Lynch were the only two quarterbacks in the country to average at least 200 passing yards and 90 rushing yards per contest. Through 10 games, Hill was at 237.9 yards passing and 95.6 yards rushing per game. • Hill ranks No. 2 nationally in rushing attempts that gained at least 10 yards with 44. He also is tied for No. 8 in the country with four rushing plays that picked up at least 40 yards. Hill did not play at Notre Dame last season because of a season-ending injury, but the Cougars with Riley Nelson (177 yards passing and minus-seven rushing yards) at the throttle still led 14-10 entering the Keep 'Em On The Run Last year, the top two defenses against the run were national champion Alabama, which allowed 76.36 yards per game, and Brigham Young at 86.92 yards surrendered per contest. Notre Dame managed a meager 32 rushing yards against Alabama in its BCS National Championship Game defeat — but it did amass 270 yards on the ground and 6.3 yards per carry versus the Cougars while rallying to a 17-14 victory. Theo Riddick carried 15 times for 143 yards, while Cierre Wood contributed 114 yards on 18 carries, an average of 7.8 yards per carry between them. Headlined by pass-rushing terror Kyle Van Noy (26 career sacks, second most among current Football Bowl Subdivision players), Brigham Young's defense limited Irish quarterback Tommy Rees — starting in place of an injured Everett Golson — to completing only 7 of 16 passes for 117 yards with an interception. ✦ Page 8 Notre Dame's bread-and-butter this season has leaned more on the pass than the run, which may or may not play into BYU's hands. Its run defense is not statistically proficient this year (155.0 yards allowed per game to rank 57th in that category), but envisioning another 270-yard rushing effort by Notre Dame isn't easy. If the Irish can come close to 200 yards on the ground again, that should take a lot of the onus off of Rees. The second reason ball control could be pivotal is BYU's new up-tempo attack runs more plays per game (86.8) than any other team in the country and currently ranks 13th among FBS schools with an average of 503.7 yards of offense per game. BYU's defense, with its usual cast of standout linebackers under head coach Bronco Mendenhall, has as much of an effect on the team's prolific play count as its offense. "They run 90 plays if your offense is three and out, three and out, three and out," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "We're practicing on both ends from that standpoint. We've done a pretty good job of holding on to the football and we'll need to do that. We'll need to have some controlled drives and have an eye toward keeping their offense off the field." Pitt held the ball 36:33 to Notre Dame's 23:27 in the Nov. 9 Irish loss. A week earlier, Navy had possession 37:36 to Notre Dame's 22:24. Special Delivery? Notre Dame's defense saved the day in the 14-10 victory versus USC Oct. 19. Two weeks later, the Irish offense had to carry its defense through a 38-34 shootout win against Navy in which the lead changed hands nine times. When will it be the special teams' turn to make the difference? Against BYU and